A cellular wireless network comprises multiple base stations, where each base station transmits to (downlink) and receives from (uplink) a plurality of mobile users in its coverage area. In the downlink, each user receives data from its serving base station (or serving cell). Signals from neighboring base stations may impose inter-cell interference. Because all base stations in a particular cellular wireless network operate on the same spectrum, interference is considered to be a major bottleneck for cellular communications. This becomes more of a problem as the base station density continues to grow rapidly due to the deployment of low-power, small-form-factor base stations (i.e., small-cells). As such, mitigating co-channel interference is an increasingly important factor for continuous data rate and spectral-efficiency improvement in cellular networks.